What Is In Your Hand? (Exodus 4)

Exodus 4:1–2 1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. 2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

Moses is responding to God’s call like most people do today. They have excuses, fears, and concerns. Gently at first, God attempts to allay his fears. But as Moses comes up with more and more excuses, God grows angry with him, because his fears are turning to disobedience.

In Exodus 4:1, Moses expresses concern that he will not be believed and that no one will listen to his voice, doubting that God has appeared to him. So God says, “What is in your hand?” To which, Moses responds with, “A rod.” Then God proceeds to perform a miracle with the rod, with his hand, and promises a further miracle of water in to blood.

The key truth for us today is that no matter our fears or how intimidating our audience, we have something in our hand that is more than sufficient to convince them. We have not a staff, but the Word of God.

It too may look lifeless on the surface, but it comes alive (Heb 4:12). It too is designed to convince and persuade men. And it too is the source of our authority. We are not sent out without a message or without authority. We have in our hand the mighty Word of God, that we should open and show who God is, what He says, and why He should be believed!